Mo. SOS to take public comments on initiatives

Secretary of State Jason Kander plans to have a public comment period before ballot summaries are written.

Credit KBIA

Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander is giving the public a chance to review potential ballot initiatives long before the petition gathering begins.

Kander said Friday that initiatives submitted to his office will be posted online, and the public will have a five-day comment period before his office drafts a summary for the measures.

Kander, a Democrat, took office Jan. 14.

Under former Democratic Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, people had to submit a request under Missouri's open-records law if they wanted to get a copy of a proposed initiative before Carnahan's office had prepared an official summary for it. There was no formal public comment period.

Kander vowed that his ballot initiative summaries will be "fair" and "easy-to-understand."